What role should political science and other social sciences play in the tech world?
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A main concern is outlined well in the predictive policing debate (https://theconversation.com/why-big-data-analysis-of-police-activity-is-inherently-biased-72640), where good data is not necessarily available, or the data perpetuates biases. Removing or controlling for these biases while maintaining a balance between security and privacy may be solved by the expertise of political or other social scientists.
It's an interesting call to action, the idea thst social scientists shoud utlitize their expertise to better inform the public in an environoment of curt soundbyte analysis. We are wary of their actions, but still play by their rules.
It would be interesting to better understand how this 'call to action' might be better recognized and acted upon. I see the potential for both a top-down and bottom-up solutions within such an approach.
This discussion reminds me of a new law that was adopted lately in Germany to curb fake news. Online platforms and Social Media with more than 2 million followers/users (e.g., facebook, twitter, youtube) are obliged to act on fake news (read, delete them) within 24 hours. Otherwise these companies are subject to a fine of up to 50 million euro. The law has become active in October this year but I am not aware of any case it was applied so far. (read more here: https://www.cjr.org/watchdog/europe-fights-fake-news-facebook-twitter-google.php)
That is a really interesting first step. I think it's great that some accountability is being shared. In some ways, however, I think it might be a band-aid solution in the sense that the people who read the news aren't being taught to think critically. Though I understand that education in this regard might only work for a smaller section of the population, and thus, censorship solutions might be a bigger, umbrella solution.
Political science is just a synonym of philosophically organised humanism. Tech liberates, opens new paths but since it capitalises degree of access can hinder democracy. Don't fool us; the problem lies in human behaviour, not to tech itself
The algorithm is developing to the pot noodle of democracy. Are we going to allow it?
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